Arte Contemporânea Espanhola. Reservas do MEAC
1986
Arte Contemporânea Espanhola. Reservas do MEAC
Exposição panorâmica de arte espanhola contemporânea, reunindo cerca de 180 obras de 44 artistas espanhóis, numa organização conjunta do Centro de Arte Moderna da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian e do Museo Español de Arte Contemporáneo. A programação das exposições incentivou o conhecimento mútuo da criação artística dos dois países e coincidiu com a sua integração na Comunidade Económica Europeia.
Exhibition providing an overview of Spanish contemporary art, bringing together 180 works by 44 Spanish artists, jointly organised by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation's Modern Art Centre together with the Museo Español de Arte Contemporáneo. The exhibitions' programme promoted mutual learning about the artistic creation of the two countries and coincided with their integration into the European Economic Community.
Exposição panorâmica de arte espanhola contemporânea, da iniciativa dos Ministérios dos Assuntos Exteriores e da Cultura de Espanha, com organização conjunta do Centro de Arte Moderna da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian (FCG) e do Museo Español de Arte Contemporáneo (MEAC), extinto em 1988, aquando da conversão do Centro de Arte Reina Sofía em museu nacional. Nessa ocasião, os seus acervos foram transferidos para o novo museu, inaugurado em maio de 1986, no qual havia já sido integrada uma parte do acervo proveniente do MEAC, que até 1988 se localizou no atual Museo del Traje de Madrid.
Aquando da reunião do CIMAM (Comité Internacional para Museus e Coleções de Arte Moderna do ICOM), que teve lugar na Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian no ano de 1985 por ocasião da «Primeira Exposição-Diálogo sobre a Arte Contemporânea na Europa», foram iniciadas conversações entre as direções do MEAC e do Centro de Arte Moderna da FCG no sentido de promover as relações culturais entre as duas instituições e a arte dos dois países (Nota para o Presidente da FCG, 22 jul. 1985, Arquivos Gulbenkian, CAM 00121). Em setembro desse mesmo ano, ficou acordada a realização, no CAM, de uma mostra panorâmica de arte espanhola contemporânea com obras do acervo do MEAC, à qual se seguiria, meses mais tarde e nos mesmos moldes, uma apresentação de arte portuguesa contemporânea («Arte Contemporáneo Portugués», 1987) no referido museu espanhol (Apontamento do Centro de Arte Moderna, 5 set. 1985, Arquivos Gulbenkian, CAM 00121).
Além de incentivar o conhecimento mútuo da criação artística dos dois países, a programação destas exposições acabaria por coincidir com a integração de Portugal e Espanha na Comunidade Económica Europeia (CEE), também celebrada, oportunamente, por esta iniciativa de intercâmbio cultural entre países-membros.
Durante cerca de um mês, o público português teve ocasião de ver, nos dois pisos da Galeria de Exposições Temporárias da FCG, cerca de 180 obras de 44 artistas espanhóis de várias gerações, desde Dalí, Picasso e Miró, até artistas mais jovens e, por esse motivo, menos conhecidos do público português, como Zush, Pérez Villalta, García Sicilia.
O projeto museográfico, de acordo com o crítico de arte José Luís Porfírio, acompanhou o objetivo antológico, orientando-se para um percurso que evidenciava a «unidade» da arte espanhola do século XX e organizando-se em torno de quatro núcleos: «Os grandes nomes», representado por Dalí, Picasso, Miró, Juan Gris, María Blanchard; «Continuidades e rupturas», marcado por «um modernismo calmo», intercalado pelas originais pesquisas de Tàpies, Millares e Chillida; «Matéria, figura e gesto»; e as «Novas tendências», surgidas sobretudo durante os anos de 1970. O crítico sublinhou ainda a forma como o projeto expositivo evidenciava a imagem do museu espanhol, integrando um pórtico de entrada e, no espaço da galeria, paredes divisórias, rodapés e sancas, que contribuíam para a encenação de um museu dentro da galeria: «Esta grande unidade, sem desvios nem fugas, cria um espaço novo e outro dentro da galeria da Fundação, que reforça poderosamente o conjunto, tão díspar e por vezes tão desigual das peças apresentadas. Não é de facto mais uma exposição, é um Museu em visita, ele é, em si, a peça principal, ainda que efémera, da própria exposição.» (Porfírio, Expresso, 1 mar. 1986, p. 39)
A exposição foi um enorme êxito, a avaliar pela afluência do público, que somou 48 222 visitantes, número expressivo do grande interesse suscitado pela arte daquele século produzida no país vizinho.
A exposição colheu a atenção de diversos órgãos de imprensa portugueses e espanhóis. O jornal madrileno ABC noticiou que o número de visitantes avançados pela FCG «demonstrava que o intercâmbio cultural entre os dois países ibéricos não era apenas possível, como se tornava absolutamente necessário» (Sánchez, ABC, 24 fev. 1986, p. 35).
Na mesma notícia era ainda destacado o acerto das escolhas da comissária da exposição: «[…] esta muestra supo evitar dos escollos habituales en este tipo de manifestaciones: la ostentación cuantitativa y la selección de obras maestras demasiado conocidas para interesar realmente al público aficionado.» (Guardiola, El País, 9 mar. 1986, p. 29)
Filipa Coimbra, 2017
Exhibition providing an overview of contemporary Spanish art, an initiative of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture of Spain, jointly organised by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (FCG) Modern Art Centre (CAM) and what was then called the Museo Español de Arte Contemporáneo (MEAC), wound down in 1988 when the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía was made into a national museum. At that time, its collections were transferred to the new museum, which opened in May 1986, where some of the MEAC collection that had been at what is now the Museo del Traje, in Madrid, was integrated.
Conversations began between the managements of MEAC and the CAM in 1985 at the time of a meeting of CIMAM (ICOM's International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art) on the occasion of the Exposição-Diálogo [Exhibition-Dialogue] exhibition. These conversations aimed to enhance cultural relations between the two institutions and art between the two countries (Note to the FCG president, 22 Jul. 1985, Gulbenkian Archives, CAM 00121). In September that year, it was agreed that an overview of contemporary Spanish art would be shown at an exhibition comprising pieces from the MEAC collection to be put on at the CAM. This would be followed, months later but following a similar model, by an exhibition of contemporary Portuguese art (Arte Contemporáneo Portugués, 1987) at the Spanish museum (Note by the Modern Art Centre, 5 Sept. 1985, Gulbenkian Archives, CAM 00121).
As well as encouraging mutual knowledge of artistic production in the two countries, these exhibitions ended up coinciding with the two countries' accession to the European Economic Community (EEC), which was also celebrated by this cultural exchange initiative between Member States. For roughly a month, the Portuguese public had the chance to see around 180 works by 44 Spanish artists spread over the two floors of the FCG Temporary Exhibitions Gallery. The pieces represented several generations, from Dali, Picasso and Miró to much younger artists lesser known by the Portuguese public such as Zush, Pérez Villalta, García Sicilia.
The exhibition plan, as argued by art critic José Luís Porfírio, had the aim of creating an anthology, guiding visitors along a path that demonstrated the unity of 20th-century Spanish art. The exhibition was organised into four sections: the big names Dali, Picasso, Miró, Juan Gris, Maria Blanchard; continuities and interruptions, marked by a calm modernism interspersed with the original experiments by Tapiés, Millares and Chillida; matter, figure and movement; and new trends arising mostly during the 1970s. The same critic also underlined how the exhibition plan displayed the image of the Spanish museum, including execution of an entrance frame, dividing walls in the galleries, with skirting boards and crown mouldings that helped provide the backdrop of a museum within the rooms: This great unity, without diversions or escapes, creates a new space within the Foundation gallery, which powerfully reinforces the pieces on display as a whole, so disparate and sometimes so uneven. It is, in fact, not just an exhibition, it is a museum being viewed, the museum itself is the main, although ephemeral, feature of the exhibition (Porfírio, Expresso, 1 Mar. 1986, p. 39).
The exhibition was a huge success, judging by the number of visits, which reached a total of 48,222 and reflected the great interest in art produced that century by the neighbouring country.
The Madrid-based newspaper ABC reported that the number of visitors recorded by the FCG demonstrated that the cultural exchange between the two Iberian nations was not just possible, but absolutely necessary (Sánchez, ABC, 24 Feb. 1986, p. 35).
There were also reports and comments on the exhibition by Portuguese and Spanish critics. In El Pais, Nicole Guardiola mentioned the exhibition as an example of a decidedly official, pedagogical initiative that, nonetheless, did not bore the audience. The same news story also highlighted the good selection made by the exhibition curator, believing that she had avoided making the usual choices of these exhibitions: the ostentation of quantity and the selection of masterpieces that are too well-known to attract the attention of an interested audience (Guardiola, El Pais, 9 Mar. 1986, p. 29).
Conversations began between the managements of MEAC and the CAM in 1985 at the time of a meeting of CIMAM (ICOM's International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art) on the occasion of the Exposição-Diálogo [Exhibition-Dialogue] exhibition. These conversations aimed to enhance cultural relations between the two institutions and art between the two countries (Note to the FCG president, 22 Jul. 1985, Gulbenkian Archives, CAM 00121). In September that year, it was agreed that an overview of contemporary Spanish art would be shown at an exhibition comprising pieces from the MEAC collection to be put on at the CAM. This would be followed, months later but following a similar model, by an exhibition of contemporary Portuguese art (Arte Contemporáneo Portugués, 1987) at the Spanish museum (Note by the Modern Art Centre, 5 Sept. 1985, Gulbenkian Archives, CAM 00121).
As well as encouraging mutual knowledge of artistic production in the two countries, these exhibitions ended up coinciding with the two countries' accession to the European Economic Community (EEC), which was also celebrated by this cultural exchange initiative between Member States. For roughly a month, the Portuguese public had the chance to see around 180 works by 44 Spanish artists spread over the two floors of the FCG Temporary Exhibitions Gallery. The pieces represented several generations, from Dali, Picasso and Miró to much younger artists lesser known by the Portuguese public such as Zush, Pérez Villalta, García Sicilia.
The exhibition plan, as argued by art critic José Luís Porfírio, had the aim of creating an anthology, guiding visitors along a path that demonstrated the unity of 20th-century Spanish art. The exhibition was organised into four sections: the big names Dali, Picasso, Miró, Juan Gris, Maria Blanchard; continuities and interruptions, marked by a calm modernism interspersed with the original experiments by Tapiés, Millares and Chillida; matter, figure and movement; and new trends arising mostly during the 1970s. The same critic also underlined how the exhibition plan displayed the image of the Spanish museum, including execution of an entrance frame, dividing walls in the galleries, with skirting boards and crown mouldings that helped provide the backdrop of a museum within the rooms: This great unity, without diversions or escapes, creates a new space within the Foundation gallery, which powerfully reinforces the pieces on display as a whole, so disparate and sometimes so uneven. It is, in fact, not just an exhibition, it is a museum being viewed, the museum itself is the main, although ephemeral, feature of the exhibition (Porfírio, Expresso, 1 Mar. 1986, p. 39).
The exhibition was a huge success, judging by the number of visits, which reached a total of 48,222 and reflected the great interest in art produced that century by the neighbouring country.
The Madrid-based newspaper ABC reported that the number of visitors recorded by the FCG demonstrated that the cultural exchange between the two Iberian nations was not just possible, but absolutely necessary (Sánchez, ABC, 24 Feb. 1986, p. 35).
There were also reports and comments on the exhibition by Portuguese and Spanish critics. In El Pais, Nicole Guardiola mentioned the exhibition as an example of a decidedly official, pedagogical initiative that, nonetheless, did not bore the audience. The same news story also highlighted the good selection made by the exhibition curator, believing that she had avoided making the usual choices of these exhibitions: the ostentation of quantity and the selection of masterpieces that are too well-known to attract the attention of an interested audience (Guardiola, El Pais, 9 Mar. 1986, p. 29).
Ficha Técnica
- Iniciativa
- Organizador / Serviço responsável
- Organizador / Parceiro institucional
- Programação (FCG)
- Comissariado
- Parceiro institucional
Artistas / Participantes
Eventos Paralelos
Publicações
Material Gráfico
Fotografias
